Exclusive: Smoking Gun in Wiretap Case
Published
Terry Christensen, a prominent celebrity lawyer, has been indicted on charges he violated Federal wiretap laws by hiring infamous P.I. Anthony Pellicano to wiretap the wife of a client. Now TMZ has learned the smoking guns in the case are conversations between Pellicano and the lawyer that Pellicano secretly recorded.
The indictment alleges that in 2002, Christensen paid Pellicano at least $100,000 to wiretap the phone of Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, who was locked in a bitter child support battle at the time with billionaire Kirk Kerkorian.
Sources connected with the investigation tell TMZ that after tapping Lisa Bonder Kerkorian's phone, Pellicano made tapes of the conversations and the Feds have seized those tapes. But the same sources also tell TMZ that Pellicano tape recorded his conversations with Christensen as the two allegedly discussed the wiretap, and the Feds have seized those tapes as well.
The sources say the Feds also have circumstantial evidence -- the dates of some of the payments Pellicano allegedly received from Christensen coincide with significant conversations that Pellicano recorded from the wiretap.
Pellicano has also been indicted. He just finished serving time in Federal prison on an unrelated matter.
A spokesperson in Christensen's firm says Christensen never hired anyone to wiretap and that Christensen will be vindicated.
TMZ has just obtained a statement from Lisa Bonder Kerkorian's lawyer, Steve Sitkoff, claiming is client is "devastated" by the news of the alleged wiretapping. "She is a victim of brazen criminal acts perpetrated by those who should know better," Sitkoff says.
Sitkoff also issued this warning: "Currently, she is consulting with her legal counsel to help her with this crisis..."